Welcome to my blog for reviewing the best Mexican restaurants and food in Orange County, CA. I intend to cover as many as I can . . . and all sorts and price ranges: "From taco trucks to fine dining . . . and everything inbetween." Newer entries tend to focus on photos more than words. Number of restaurants covered so far: 268+. See The List

Saturday, January 30, 2010

It's been a while since I've been to Gabbi's so I stopped by yesterday for lunch and not much has changed but I did find out a couple things. For one, their salsa is spicier now. That will be good news to many people.

Two: they have a good duck confit quesadilla with a mole negro sauce on special right now.

Three: they now make all their ice creams and sorbets on-site. I tried the fried plantain ice cream seen above.

And, four: you can now purchase bottles of Gabbi's hot sauce. You can also order some online here or at Dean & DeLuca.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Coming a little late to the social media game but coming with a vengeance, Del Taco is now engaging fans with a Twitter and Facebook presence, though it seems to be concentrating more on Facebook by revealing a whole new ad campaign there with new mascots, special Facebook-only deals and more.

Here's a super quick clip from their new "Super Special Show," the entirety of which can be seen at their Facebook page:

Also, keep an eye out for the Del Taco coupon mailers. The one I got yesterday had some pretty good deals on it, including a Del's Deal of two ½ lb. bean and cheese burritos, one regular taco and a small beverage for $2.99.

New York, NY (January 21, 2010) Atari, Inc., one of the world’s most recognized videogame publishers, and Del Taco, the nation’s No. 2 Mexican quick serve chain, announced today a special promotion allowing eager fans early access to the highly anticipated MMO, Star Trek Online. Created by acclaimed developers Cryptic Studios™, Star Trek Online for PC is set to release on February 2, 2010 in North America.

Customers who purchase a Macho-sized drink at Del Taco will receive a free limited edition Star Trek collector’s cup and a free trial of the Star Trek Online while supplies last. Each collector’s cup will have an individual peel code that can be redeemed for a 48-hour free trial of Star Trek Online at http://www.startrekonline.com/deltaco. Customers can redeem up to four codes and receive 48-hours of gameplay with each code. As an added bonus, customers that redeem the maximum four codes will receive an extra 48-hours of access to the game for a total of 10 full days.

Additionally, if consumers choose to purchase the game after their free trial, they will receive a free Type-8 Shuttle "pet" add-on for their Starship, available exclusively from Del Taco.

“Early response to Star Trek Online has been tremendous,” said Jim Wilson, CEO and President, Atari, Inc. “Our partnership with Del Taco brings this unique sci-fi massively open online game to an even broader mainstream audience as well as avid Star Trek fans.”

“We’re excited to be partnering with Atari and the Star Trek franchise,” said John Cappasola, vice president of marketing at Del Taco. “We think our customers are going to enjoy the collectible cups as well as the opportunity to get a free trial of the Star Trek Online game.”

In Star Trek Online, the Star Trek universe will appear for the first time on a truly massive scale. In this massively multiplayer online game, players can pioneer their own destiny as captain of a Federation ship or become a Klingon Warlord and expand the Empire to the far reaches of the galaxy. Players will visit iconic locations from the popular Star Trek fiction, travel to unexplored star systems and contact new alien species. Every moment spent playing Star Trek Online will feel like a new Star Trek episode in which you are the hero. Immerse yourself in the future of the Trek universe as it moves into the 25th century -- a time of shifting alliances and new discoveries. As the Captain of your very own ship, it's up to you to lead your crew on missions that span the galaxy.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Here are some photos I took at Cafe Rio recently. It just opened a week ago in a shopping center in Lake Forest that is easy to get into but hard to get out of. I did a writeup on them when I went to one of their locations in Utah a couple years ago. You can also read a writeup of this new location by "Angry Julie" here and see her WHRRL story with Kelly L. here.

Their line kind of works like Chipotle's but they have more options.

Yes, their handmade tortillas are good. I just didn't have any this time.

My trip to their new spot was last Thursday when they do Tamale Thursday, so I got two pork tamales with green sauce, their chocolate-cheese flan I've had before, and their raspberry lemon-lime agua fresca.

People wonder what a Utah-based chain could offer an area that is already saturated with Mexican food. But it may not matter because tons of people were there enjoying it. A very nice employee there told that they are going to see how well they can handle the competition here that they don't have to the same degree in Utah.